Capella, a yellow giant star in Auriga
Capella is a yellow giant star in the constellation Auriga. At 43 light years away, it is the 6th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 0.08.
Capella (HIP 24608)
Capella is a yellow giant star in the constellation Auriga. At 43 light years away, it is the 6th brightest star in the Earth's sky, where it shines at an apparent visual magnitude of 0.08. Capella is a component of a multiple-star system. The iron abundance of Capella is -0.27 (53.7% of the Sun). It is moving through the Galaxy at a speed of 39.7 km/s relative to the Sun. Its projected Galactic orbit carries it between 21,900 and 27,100 light years from the center of the Galaxy. It came closest to the Sun 237,000 years ago when it had brightened to magnitude -0.76 from a distance of 29 light years.
Sky position: RA 5h 16.7m, Dec +46° 0'
Common designations: Capella, Alpha Aurigae, 13 Aurigae, HIP 24608, HD 34029, Gliese 194
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Brightest stars in Auriga:
(list all)
1
| 0.08
) Capella
| Rank | Mag. | Star |
| 2 | 1.90 | Menkalinan |
| 3 | 2.65 | Theta Aurigae |
| 4 | 2.69 | Hassaleh |
| 5 | 3.03 | Al Anz |
| 6 | 3.18 | Hoedus II |
| 7 | 3.69 | Hoedus I |
| 8 | 3.72 | Delta Aurigae |
| 9 | 3.97 | Nu Aurigae |
| 10 | 4.30 | Pi Aurigae |
| 11 | 4.32 | Kappa Aurigae |
| 12 | 4.51 | Tau Aurigae |
| 13 | 4.54 | 16 Aurigae |
| 14 | 4.69 | Lambda Aurigae |
| 15 | 4.71 | Chi Aurigae |
| 16 | 4.72 | Upsilon Aurigae |
| 17 | 4.79 | 2 Aurigae |
Hover over other bright stars to identify or click to jump.
Galactic Orbit of Capella
(compared to the Sun)
E
ccentricity: 10.6% vs. 16.0%Angle φ : -88.2°vs. 26.0°
Semi-major axis : 7,522 pc vs. 8,686 pc
Semi-minor axis: 7,479 pc vs. 8,574 pc
Focus-to-center
: 797 pcvs. 1,388 pcSemilatus rectum : 7,437 pc vs. 8,464 pc
Perigalacticon: 6,724 pc vs. 7,297 pc
Apogalacticon
: 8,319 pcvs. 10,074 pcSome Tabulated XHIP Data for Capella
(see also: SIMBAD)
Astrometry
2007A&A...474..653V
| Position | Proper Motion | |
| Right Ascension: | 79.17206466° ±0.45 mas | 75.25 ±0.54 mas/yr. |
| Declination: | 45.99902905° ±0.31 mas | -426.89 ±0.28 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Longitude: | 162.58751310° | 392.35 mas/yr. |
| Galactic Latitude: | 4.56687535° | -184.27 mas/yr. |
Parallax: 76.20 ± 0.46 mas
Spectrography
Spectral Type: G1III + K0III 1990A&A...230..389S.
Radial Velocity:
29.19 ±0.07 km/s [A rating]
2004MNRAS.349.1069K.
This star is a spectroscopic binary with a solved orbit.
Iron Abundance [Fe/H]:
-0.27 dex
1990ApJS...74.1075M.
Photometry
| band | magnitude | Abs. Mag. |
| U | ||
| B | 0.88 | 0.28 |
| V | 0.08 | -0.51 |
| R | 0.40 | -0.19 |
| I | 0.60 | 0.01 |
| J | -1.25 | -1.84 |
| H | -1.57 | -2.16 |
| K | -1.74 | -2.33 |
B-V: +0.80 V-I: -0.52
Derivations
Heliocentric distance: 13.12 pc (0.6% margin of error)
Galactocentric distance: 7,412 pc
Transverse velocity: 27.0 km/s
3D heliocentric position and motion:
|
toward: |
Galactic center | Galactic rotation | North Galactic Pole |
| Position ( X, Y, Z) | -12.5 pc | 3.9 pc | 1.0 pc |
| Velocity (U, V, W) | -35.9 km/s | -14.3 km/s | -9.1 km/s |